Auditions on Saturday, January 21, 2006, 2:00-5:00pm at the Cultural Center. Performance on Saturday, February 25, 2006, 7:00-10:00pm, in the University Center Auditorium.

Eres Dyson and D'Angelo Sullivan rehearse their tribute to Poetic Justice and Love Jones

Jeff Kirkman III rehearses his tribute to the old-school film Coolie High

The Black Studies Program will present as part of the CSU Black History Month Celebration Keeping It Reel: A Celebration of African Americans in the Film Industry, Saturday, February 25, 2006, 7:00 PM. The hosts for the evening include Dee Perry (WCPN/WVIZ Idea Stream), Michelle Relerford (Channel 5 News), Kevin “Chill” Heard (Call & Post), and other local celebrities who will acknowledge a variety of films with CSU students and community actors. Featured artists for the evening will include the musical group Focus, musician Bennie Tucker, Jr., vocalists Rob C, Bertha Lee Pickett and Vedah Saeed as well as poet Eres Dyson. The celebration of dance and martial arts in films will receive a tribute through the talent of Intensity with Michael Kelley New-Bey, 216 Beat Riders and the CSU Hip Hop Dance Company.

The films that have been selected to be highlighted include works that contributed to the careers of various actors from the Greater Cleveland community. Other films will be celebrated for their soundtracks that created memorable music that still inspires audiences today. Celebrities like the late Dorothy Dandridge, Halle Berry, Steve Harvey, Terrence Howard, Arsenio Hall, Kim Whitley, Rudy Ray Moore, John Hendon and others like Ruby Dee, Richard Roundtree, and Ron O’Neal will receive special tributes that will recognize their outstanding contributions to the industry. Among the films that will receive acknowledgement for its actors, directors, and producers are: Coolie High, New Jack City, The Color Purple, Malcolm X, Five Heartbeats, Waiting to Exhale, Love Jones, and a few others.

The effort to educate the audience about the social and historical films that can enhance the curriculum in both high school and college courses emphasizes the benefit of this Black History Program to educators. Keeping It Reel will be preceded by The Black Studies Ambassador Oratorical Contest, where high school students will compete for cash prizes with memorized historical speeches in the Howard A. Mims African American Cultural Center, University Center Building, Room 103, 12:00 Noon-2:00 PM. A showcase of other historical figures who are recognized for their leadership, ingenuity, creativity, and genius will be represented by actors/models in the Black History Living Museum. This event will celebrate figures like Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones, Mayor Frank Jackson, Councilwoman Fannie Lewis, Carl and Louis Stokes, Charles Drew, James Weldon Johnson, Zora Neal Hurston, Larry Doby, Bill Willis and others. These legendary figures will be represented by various CSU Student organizations and community groups who will acknowledge their relations to these individuals as members or supporters of their entities. This event will occur in the Center from 2:00-5:00 PM.

These events are free and open to the public, although tickets should be secured for the Keeping It Reel event from the Howard A. Mims African American Cultural Center due to limited seating.
7:00 PM, UC Auditorium